First published 2019
This companion volume follows the acclaimed 2014 annotated Lovecraft collection. Editor Leslie Klinger presents twenty-five additional stories that complete Lovecraft's significant fiction. The collection includes "Rats in the Wall," which explores post-World War I terrors rooted in ancestral guilt, and "The Horror at Red Hook," recently adapted by novelist Victor LaValle. Klinger traces Lovecraft's development from his early years as a Rhode Island literary critic through his maturation into an influential horror writer. The stories reveal an author whose massive impact on genre fiction would only become apparent long after his 1937 death. Hundreds of detailed annotations illuminate historical context, literary references, and biographical connections. Rare photographs and illustrations accompany the text. Together with its predecessor, this volume presents the full scope of Lovecraft's fictional achievement, from his cosmic horror tales featuring ancient gods and forbidden knowledge to his more psychological explorations of decay and madness.
Genres: science-fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, horror
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: cosmic-horror, psychological-horror
Setting: Arkham, Rhode Island, Red Hook
Period: Post-World War I
512 pages · Hardcover · Liveright
Content warnings: body-horror, death, gore, graphic-violence, mental-illness